Gaming

Nothing has ever hit me harder than Disco Elysium, and I don't think anything else ever will. Everything from its themes of failure and depression and addiction and clinging to the past to its surprising message of hope in the face of unrelenting nihilism resonated with me on a molecular level. And the Final Dream is just the single most impactful, emotional and heart-rending moment I've had in any game ever. The culmination of the entire game distilled into one scene, and even the whole pathos of that one scene concentrated into three closing words:

Homeworld. The end credits were so beautiful. It still gives me frisson thinking about it.

Doom Eternal after completing the game and all the DLC. They put you through HELL (literally) and these levels are a BITCH at the end and the sigh of relief to see this arc of the story finally come to a close is so satisfying.

Doom 2016 was an overall better game from an atmospheric perspective, and it had better direction overall, but Eternal was just fun and hard. If you can bare it on at least ultra-violence the sense of completion at the end of it all is quite gratifying.

Deus Ex

KOTOR

Obligatory HK-47 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XXvVVCr_6P8

Since noone mentioned it, for me it is Inmost. A beautiful pixelart game that covers some heavy topics.

I've always played video games one way or another, so I consider them all to be life changing. In a general sense, because getting games in my country wasn't easy in the 80's and 90's, and most would bring them from the US, so I learned English through the games, which opened the possibility to hang out (online) with people from around the world.

But I think there's two games that marked me:

Vampire the Masquerade Redemption, because until then I hadn't played any story-driven true RPG. And after I finished it, I moved on to games like Fallout and Dragon Age, which led me to learn about modding, communities, etc.

The Last of Us, because until then no game (no matter how much I loved it) made me feel so intensely. I played it in several days, and each day I was emotionally exhausted. The ending left me speechless. I would wake up every day feeling like I'd been hit by a truck, for about a week or two.

One that should get way more attention: Little King's Story. It presents as a cutsie Pikmin-like, but is actually a dark, metaphorical tale about abuse and trauma.

Most recently, the final choice in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 gutted me.

Spiritfarer was one for me. Idk what it was about it, because the character development for the spirits you're carrying was pretty meh, and the twist at the end was ruined by the achievements early in the game, but that shit had me almost in tears when each person was dropped off at the gate.

Jumpman Junior, 1986. thousand yard stare C E D F E F G E D E F D C E D F G F E D C

Also, Friendship with Benefits.

edit holy shit they released FwB 2 in April. BRB.

Most recent: Death Stranding 2

I love that wild shit, and the story is very touching.

The one before that: Xenoblade Chronicles 3

There's so much emotion in that game. Of all the games I have played in the last 37 years or so, I cried more in XC3 than I think I have in any other game. So good.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Some games give you "end credits", but if you safe and reload, it puts you in the next chapter...

It wasn't the story of the game that was life-changing, but I met people on PSO that encouraged me to pursue a different career. Without them, I don't think I'd be the person I am today.

This question has two answers.

the game that practically changed your life in terms of how it affected you.. and the game that made you change the way you think.

For practicalitys sake, the game that had the most change and influence on my life was, ironically, Second Life. Just through the people I met and experiences I had over the course of the 15-16 years I played it.

I cant really tell you what one had the most profound impact psychologically, I was going to say the Sims or Fallout for the impact they had on like, how I see people vs how I see society. but Im gonna cop-out and go with Mass Effect 2 and 3. since The story is such an "epic" in that it tackles so many philisophical and existential questions, Mainly revolving around what living beings, and in some cases, individual heroes do in the face of death. the whole story is a broad tale of Machines vs Organics, but its done in a very doomsday/armagedon tone. stretched across a sci-fi galaxy instead of just talking about humanity.

Xenogears. That game changed my teenage life and shaped many things I did after.

Outer Wilds, Nier Automata, and SOMA are all fantastic runners up. Would love to put many others on this list, but I'll try to keep it short.

Borderlands pre sequel clap trap dlc ends ending titles

ahhh Planescape Torment...

Enderal and its not even close. It shows a world that is in a deep decline and an apocalypse that is all but inevitable but manages to still feel hopeful in a way. Throughout the game there is this theme of how even if everything might fade at some point your interpersonal actions are still meaningful. The Rhalata sidequest alone easily outmatches most games that where published by "real" game studios and the main story just seals the deal.

Dominion

I loved and competed in various trading card games throughout high school however once married with kids I could no longer afford the hobby. Dominion caused a surge in the deckbuilding genre and ultimately led to my first published game design. Now board games and tabletop RPGs are a favorite for spending time with family and friends.

Nier: Automata, like the final ending. I've 100% this game three times and each time I end tearing up, thinking about a world where would could all come together and help eachother, then I look at the news and that dream is immediately shattered.

Chess* enhanced my cognitive skills and consequently improved my confidence.

*lichess.org